Avoid These Lasagna Common Mistakes; You Are Too Good for Mushy Noodles

There is nothing like a good pan of lasagna. Gooey, cheesy, packed with carbs—this just might be the perfect comfort food. But screw it up, and we're talking mushy noodles, soupy sauce, and congealed cheese. You deserve better than that, and so does this casserole. Avoid these common mistakes and make a perfect pan of lasagna—every time.

1. Overcooking the Noodles

"First, you have to decide what type of dish you want to make," says Chris Morocco, senior food editor. "If you're using no-boil noodles—which I sometimes do—it's just not a real lasagna. It's a baked pasta dish." Hey, we get it—when you're strapped for time, no-boil noodles can be a lifesaver. Just be sure to bump up the flavor and bring in the big guns with your sauce, cheese, and seasoning (nobody could accuse no-boil noods of being texturally great or overly flavorful).

That said, if you're going big with traditionally-boiled noodles, err on the side of undercooking them. "Four to five minutes will do it," says Rick Martinez, associate food editor. Remember that you'll be cooking them again, by baking them in a hot oven.

2. Letting the Noodles Get All Clumpy

Once you've cooked your noodles to just under al dente, do not—we repeat do not—dump them in a colander to drain in the sink as you prepare the sauce and cheese. They'll quickly become a clumpy mess, and that's just no good. Instead, after you've drained the pot, lay each noodle flat on an oiled baking sheet. It takes a little extra time, but it's worth it.

Yes, your lasagna needs a béchamel and a tomato-based marinara sauce. The only acceptable workaround is to make a meat ragú with plenty of milk or cream. Point being: You need some dairy up in there, beyond the cheese. A cream-based sauce keeps things moist and counters the acidity of the tomatoes.

4. Starting the Layers with Noodles

The first layer of your lasagna should be sauce, says Claire Saffitz, associate food editor. Not only does it help keep things moist, it ensures that the noodles won't stick to the pan.

5. Using the Wrong Cheese

This may sound controversial, but the BA test kitchen does not advocate for the use of ricotta cheese in lasagna. "It becomes dry and weirdly cracked at the surface," explains Morocco, who prefers to keep things saucy with a béchamel (see point no. 3!). Saffitz says her favorite cheese for lasagna is a grated, hard aged cheese, like Parmesan. It adds a salty, nutty flavor—especially when paired with a good sauce. If you must use ricotta (we're not ones to tell your nonna no), combat dryness by beating it with egg, herbs, and salt and pepper before spreading it on the noodles.

"If there's less than three layers, it's probably not a lasagna," says Morocco. There's no need to go crazy—aim for somewhere between three and 1,000—but one thing's for sure: You need to use a pan that's big enough to hold all of that gooey goodness in. The Test Kitchen likes 13"X9" casserole dishes. Bonus points for glass, so you can see how things are coming along as it bakes.

7. Not Covering It While Baking

If you leave your lasagna uncovered in the oven, it will become dry. Fight back with a foil-topped tray for a portion of the baking time. Once the lasagna has baked halfway through, remove the foil so the top can brown. If, once it's fully cooked, the top still looks pale, turn on the broiler to help move things along. But keep an eye on the casserole; it can burn quickly.